Sword Art Online: The Blood Reaper
by R-Trigger
Summary: An unlucky green player striving to survive the Death Game Sword Art Online have to spend the rest of his time as an orange player. Despite doing any crimes, he was often hunted by Bounty Hunters, High Level Guild, and even the Front-Liner for being an Orange Player. But some people still stick with him despite his Cursor Color, and they're actually closer than they think they are.
1. A New Path

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

The violent sound of metal breaking the stone ground resounded throughout the silent forest, I leapt out of the way barely in time. I grunted when I found myself unable to step back because of the large tree behind me.

I looked at the enemy in front of me, a green-skin humanoid creature wearing a loincloth and carrying a large iron hammer. From my eyes, an orange cursor is present above the creature's head, the letter «Hammer Orc» floats above the cursor, indicating the creature's name. And a half circular green bar, with 60% left on it, on the side of his upper body, the creature's HP bar.

On the top left side of my view, there is also a HP bar as well, but yellow instead of green, indicating my HP is under 50% but still above 10%.

This how battles are in this world, a virtual reality world that's supposed to be just a normal Online Game. Until 4 month ago where the GM, or Kayaba Akihiko, founder of this game, declared this game as a death game. Where no one is able to Logout, and death in the game means death in the real world. This game.. This Death Game, is called «Sword Art Online»

So since in-game death means real death, and HP Bar acts as your real life meter, you could say I'm halfway to hell by now.

The orc in front of me roared and pulled back its hammer, the weapon's blunt side started emitting dark green light before it swung the weapon, the light leaving a trail of dark green. I ducked an rolled out to the left as the hammer smashed through the tree, breaking the tree bark. The broken tree started turning light blue transparent before it shatters into million shards of polygons.

This is how death and object destructions are in SAO, instant. That might have been me if I hadn't dodged that one attack.

As I rolled to the side, I gripped my weapon tightly in my hands, the «Twin Tooth», a Kusarigama-type weapon, one of a kind in SAO. Given to me because of my achievement as the fastest player during Beta-Testing. I kicked the ground and dashed toward the monster as my twin scythe's sharp edge emitted red light. I let out a 10-hit attack on the monster before I jumped and land another 2 hits on the orc's neck, dropping its HP Bar from 60% to 20%.

As I was about to land, I did a flip on the orc's shoulder, resulting in the Twin Tooth's chain to wrap around the monster's neck. I landed behind the monster and pulled harshly on my weapon. The Hammer Orc's HP bar slowly depletes from 20%, to 15%, to 10%, 5%, and the red dots finally disappeared as the once large monster shatters into million shards of polygons

That attack was a «Sword Skill» exclusive to the kusarigama, the «Mantis Dance», a complete hit from it would deplete almost 80% of a monster's HP with the same level as the user. But despite the overpowered damage, it is hard to control and have low accuracy, luckily, the Hammer Orc was large enough for me to land a full blow of the Mantis Dance.

A window with the letter EXP and COL appeared before me, along with the material the monster dropped. I stacked my Kusarigama and placed it back to its sheath on my back before I touched the [X] Icon on the top right of the battle result window.

I looked at the HP bar on my vision, the numbers «814/2600» was written next to my name, «Amano». And next to my name is my current level, Lv.28. I had lost more than half of my HP just after my 3rd fight.. Maybe taking on a monster with 3 level difference is quite a bad idea, the Orc I just fought was level 31.

I sighed and trek my way back to the town of the 25th floor.

Sword Art Online: The Blood Reaper  
Chapter 1  
A New Path

14:58, that's what the clock said. I tapped my finger repeatedly on the table. I don't even get what the teacher was saying in front of the class anymore.

I waited months since the end of SAO's Close Beta Test for its official release and that's in two days. I don't have time to solve another equation about limit or whatever it is the teacher's currently writing on the board. If you're wondering why am I in such a hurry despite still having to wait for another 48 hours, It's because my idiot little brother LOST my NerveGear. I need to get my pre-ordered one today or else I probably won't be there for the release.

My eyes shot open as I heard the bell rung. I took everything on my table and unceremoniously stuff them into my bag. Everyone started packing up and was talking to each other, I ignored them and was about to leave the class when a hand grabbed my shoulder, causing me to jerk back and almost fell down.

"Kuroi Amatsu, where do you think you're going?" I groaned when I heard that voice, a light female voice, that I know only belongs to one girl I know in the class.

"Um.. Home... Is that a problem, Elea?" I said as I turned around. A girl around my height stared at me with a sharp eye behind that glasses of hers that made the teacher's stares looked like a child's. Her black neck-length hair giving her eyes an even scarier look.

"Art club meeting's in 30 minutes, you're not going home yet." She said. I was so fixed on getting a new NerveGear that I forgot I have an Art Club Meeting at that same day.

My name is Kuroi Amatsu, 16 years old and is currently in 2nd year of high school. I got a short messy black hair that goes over my right eye. I'm around 175cm tall. I loathe almost every subject in school except P.E, Computer Science, and Art Class. The only club I apply for at school is the Art Club, and I'm currently the vice president of the club. Hey I'm the VP, why can't I skip at least one meeting? Because of this one girl in front of me.

Her name's Shirogane Elea, my classmate. Neck-length black hair, a little bit shorter than me, and she wears glasses. She's not with the 'overly popular girls' category, which caused me to wonder why does she have some kind of 'fan club' dedicated to her. And one reason I can't skip the meeting is because she's the president of the Art Club, and she's not the prez for nothing. Compared to hers, all of my art projects are like a child's drawing. And mind you, I'm not vice president for nothing too. And I can't lie to her to skip the meeting, that damned feeling of guilt always appears when I do. Might at well said half-truth.

"Um.. Uh.. Elea.. Say, can I skip today's meeting? I uh... Got something to do back at home." I said unsure of myself.

"Let me guess, playing that new game the news have been talking about? What did they call it? Sword Art Online?" I sighed, it was useless, she always saw through me even though when I was saying the truth..

".. You know me too well.. And not actually playing, I need to get my pre-ordered hardware today." I said as I scratched the back of my head. "So.. Uh.. Can I go now?"

She sighed as she took off her glasses. "Fine, since you're always present in our past meetings, I'll cover you up for this one... On one condition" I was about to jump in joy before I heard 'on one condition'.

"Buy me lunch next monday." She said as she poked her index finger at my chest.

"Elea, I'll buy you lunch everyday for the rest of next week if you let me go home now." I said as I took her hand and moved it away from my chest.

".. I only asked for monday, but the rest of the week sounds good. It's a deal!" Yes I know, I'm THAT desperate to get out of this place ASAP. I turned my head to look at the clock on the wall, 15:11.

"Deal, you can pick the place. I gotta go now, thanks Elea." I said as I turned around and went for the door, I turned around and saw her waving her hand to me. I waved her back and left the class.

"Hey you!" I stopped and sighed, 3 second, a new record. Wow.

I turned around and saw 3 boys of my batch, I don't even know their names, I don't see the point of it. I don't even need to wait for any of them to say anything, these guys are with Elea's fan club. Those guys just won't stop pestering me when I was with Elea, which is starting to piss me off.

"I have a name, and I don't have time for you clowns. Have a good day, and goodbye." I said, completely ignoring them as I walk away.

"Oh you think you're THAT great huh? Stealing Shirogane-sama from us." I stopped and turned my head back to them.

"Excuse me? Who died gave you people the right to own her? She's not an object."

"We-"

"I don't have time for your arguments, so do me a favor and fuck off. Or.." I stopped and cracked my knuckles. "Are you looking for another beating?"

They stood there for a moment before they finally left me alone. I tucked both of my hands in my pocket and lafet the scene, I don't need anymore of those people pestering me.

-3rd Person's POV-

Elea witnessed the whole encounter from inside the class, you can't see the inside from the outside, but its possible the other way around. She chuckled at Amatsu's reaction, she doesn't mind the fan club, but sometimes their possessiveness is a little disturbing. And Amatsu's so far the only one able to shoo them away.

She walked across the class and put hand on the window looking outside. It wasn't that long until she saw Amatsu walking out of the school ground. She looked at him as he disappears from her view.

"... Sword Art Online, huh?.."

-Amatsu's POV-

November 6th 2024, 15:16.

I took the last bite off of my piece of pizza before I stood up. "I won't be available for the rest of the night, I want both of you to be at your best behavior until mom gets home." I said to the other 2 person around the table, who both happens to be my younger siblings.

The one on my right, is my little brother, Kuroi Kaito, 2 years younger than me, which makes him around 15 years old. He's the only one with different hair color from the three of us, unlike me and my sister, he have dark brown hair instead of black. And despite being 2 years younger, I'm a full head shorter than him. And along with height, he's stronger than me in terms of physical power.

The girl on the left is my little sister, Kuroi Izumi, 12 years old. She have black, neck length hair, like Elea. And she's a full head shorter than me, I'm around 170, so you can guess how tall my little brother is.

"Will you be here for dinner Onii-chan?" Izumi said.

"Well, maybe." I said before I turned to Kaito. "And I don't want to hear Izumi or mom complaining about you when I get back."

"Wow.. Is your expectation for me really THAT low? I'm hurt, Amatsu." He said putting on a fake hurt face.

"Yeah, THAT low."

"... You're still mad at me about the NerveGear?" Kaito asked.

"YES! Thank you for realizing it after one month!" I said as I left the dining room. "I want to see everything you touch still in one piece when I get back, Kaito!" Were my final words before li left for my room.

-3rd person's POV-

"How does he still think I lost his NerveGear?" Kaito asked his sister.

"Didn't you?" The taller sibling stared at his sister with a blank face. "Nevermind." Kaito said before he left the dining room as well.

-Amatsu's POV-

I lay on my bed with the NerveGear already set on my head. Finally! The long awaited day!

I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes.

"LINK START!" I said as the NerveGear on my head did its job. My vision blurred by the light as my whole consciousness is being transferred into the game.

I opened my eyes and found myself standing in the middle of an empty white void. A virtual keyboard popped up in front of me, another window also popped up above it. In the middle of the window there's a letter «Amano (M)», and above it, «Your beta test data is still available. Would you like to use it?». I don't see the need to change my name after the CBT, so I tapped «YES»

The air around me felt light as the white void slowly disappeared and I found myself standing on the center plaza of the «City of Beginning».

My once black short hair now turned metallic silver long enough that its tied into a single loose ponytail behind my head. And my normal black eyes now turned crimson red. Like every other Level 1 Player, I wore the starting armor as well. A dark red shirt with a light metal plating with a shoulder pad on my right, along with black trouser.

I'm back. Back to this virtual world where I don't give a single care to the world outside, Aincrad. Not as Kuroi Amatsu, but as Amano.

A beeping noise rang in my ear along with a little circle with the message icon appeared in front of me. I tapped it with my right hand and the message popped open.

"Greetings Amano,  
This is Sword Art Online's System Administrator. We congratulate you on your achievement during the Beta Testing, the Most Consecutive Hitter and Highest Speed Status. When you Log into the game after the official release, check your gift window for a gift from us. We wish you luck on your gameplay in the Official Release.  
-Admin."

'Wow, didn't see that coming.' I thought as I closed the message. During the CBT, I used the Talwar weapon-type, it increases my speed status and its an easy weapon to strike a multiple combo. I just realized that I don't have the Level 1 Talwar with me right now.

I slid through the menu with my right hand and tapped on the gift icon. Like the admin said, there's a new gift from the Administrator there. I opened it and an item popped up, «Twin Tooth», a Level 1 Twin Scythe, or Kusarigama type weapon.

'A twin scythe? This kind of weapon actually exist in SAO?' I thought as I read the message that comes with the gift.

"This weapon, the Kusarigama, is a one of a kind weapon in SAO, no monster will drop this kind of weapon. A low level «Dual Blades» Skill have been applied to you character to use this weapon. Even though its a level 1 weapon, worry not, its power will increase correspondingly with your Level. -Admin"

I closed the window and sent the weapon to my inventory. A dual weapon in a game without dual wielding. Flashing it in this kind of place would be trouble.

'Eh what the heck, I'll just solo my level routine till I get another weapon.' I thought as I left the plaza and out to the field. A single thought rang in my head.

'Since when does SAO Admin gives out free stuff like this?'

-Present Time-

March 2023..

Its almost April.. Almost 5 month since Kayaba Akihiko trapped us all inside SAO. The only thing that still stays as it is is my hair.. Though my face changed to resemble my real face, my hair stays metallic silver and long instead of turning back to its original black and short...

Well.. It actually changed back, but I kinda paid an NPC to change my hairstyle back to the silver one. I don't think logic works in SAO.. It was black and SHORT before the NPC altered it into silver and LONG. Video games.

5 month and I'm still level 28, and the Front Liner is only as far as the 27th floor. Its been like 2 and a half week, and they still can't find the 27th floor Boss Room. I rarely goes into the labyrinth, maybe later once the 28th floor's unlocked.. 27's not my lucky number. Why? Its an odd number. Which makes me believe my bad luck in my hunt a moment ago at floor 25.

Odd numbers.. Giving me bad luck since I started playing SAO.

As I was walking back to the city, I realized one thing that never crossed my mind before in these 5 months.

I'm stuck inside a video game, my real body's probably in a coma-like state. And.. Mom.. Kaito.. Izumi..

Since I played this death game, I only cared about my own survival, only about myself.. Never have I thought about my family in the real world.

Then one other image flashed in my mind.. Elea..

I sighed and sat under one of the tree shade. I hit the back of my head lightly at the tree.

"I'm such a fucking idiot.."

I set my twin scythe on the grass next to me as I took a deep breath. Enjoying the soothing wind in the forest on my skin. Even though its just a virtual reality, it felt very real.

The forest field of the 25th floor, known for its wild and aggressive monsters, especially the Orcs. And those greenskins tend to attack a player in a group of 5. The Argo News sure have a lot of useful info. Wait a second..

Tend to attack in group of 5... Five.. There were only 3 orcs that ambushed me that time.. But then..

Where are the other two?

A sound of what it seems like a pile of flesh dropped to the ground resounded next to me, I instinctively turned my head to look at it in alert, and almost regretted that decision.

A head of a Hammer Orc lay on the ground staring at me.. I repeat, only the head. The said head shatters into million shards of light. I grabbed my weapon and immediately stood up. I cautiously looked over the tree behind me and It was quite a rare view I should say.

Female players are very scarce in SAO. And most of that small number of player doesn't get into battle and tend to just stay in the inn of the 1st floor.

And here I am, in the forest field of the 25th floor, seeing a Katana wielding female swiftly evading the orc's attack.

From the looks of it, I'd say she consulted with the same NPC that 'reworked' my hair.. Cause I never saw any female with light green hair.

Compared to the orc's height, I'd say she's around my height. Her long light green hair stops a little below her shoulders. And from the looks of it, her armor's the same as the starting armor, a white shirt with a little leather plating, but with a dark green vest over it. Her Katana sheath strapped vertically on the left side of her back.

I wouldn't blame her for still using that armor, cause I haven't changed my whole equipment since I started 5 month ago. Do you even know how hard it is to find an equipment that goes into the «Cloak» slot? Though its not really 'cloak', since coat, jacket, and vest goes into that slot as well. Fortunately, my weapon, level, and speed status covers up my lack of defense.

I watched her stepped out of the orc's attack as the hammer mercilessly smashed the ground. As the orc suffered the delay from its own attack, she pulled her katana back before she kicked the ground. Cutting of the monsters body clean from its waist with a single cut before the two piece shattered into million pieces.

When I saw that one attack, I feel very inferior.. No really, that attack wasn't even a «Sword Skill», just a very accurate normal attack which was probably a «Critical Hit». That one attack killed an orc who still have 40% of its HP.

So its either her weapon, or her level. But I'd say its her weapon, since she only have 25% left on her HP bar.

5 month since I played SAO, I was literally alone. My connection with other people are probably zero. And I don't see the need to attach myself into any connection, since death in SAO is very easy and fast, and means death for real, once I get attached to something or someone.. I don't even know how to describe it when they disappear right in front of my eyes.

So, I decided to just stick with the original plan and go back to the city.

1 step. One single step. My second step turned to an evasive roll to the left. I looked up and saw the tree that was once my hiding place split apart in 2 pieces before it shatters into many shards. And the Katana wielding female behind the said tree, with her sword in a position after cutting the tree.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? YOU COULD'VE KILLED ME ALONG WITH THAT TREE!" I shouted those exact words instinctively. Don't blame me, you all would've done the same thing when you're a feet apart from an 'accidental' death.

As soon as I shouted, her grip on her sword loosen up as she looked at me with those blue eyes.

"Eh?.. A. Ah I'm so sorry! I thought you were-"

"What? Do I look like an orc to you?"

"My bad.." she sheathed her Katana into the sheath on her back before she walked towards me. Yeah, I'm still sitting on the ground, that one attack scared the hell out of me.

She helped me get up from my position, as I was dusting my shirt, she noticed the object next to my foot.

"Umm hey, is that your weapon?" I froze when I heard those words. My main reason for going solo was to hide my weapon until I find a 'publicly-accepted' one. Unfortunately, she noticed the Dual Weapon I've been hiding this past 5 months.

"Yeah.. Its mine." I said in a low volume as she lifted my weapon off the ground. She held one scythe on each hand, letting the chain hang loosely in the middle.

"Its a little heavy for a dual-type weapon... Where did you get this anyway?"

"The admin gave it to me via gift when I logged in, don't ask anymore than that cause I don't understand why they gave it to me. In the first place." I said to her, I still don't understand though. Why would the Admin of SAO, give out free stuff? The only thing other than the Kusarigama that's free is a ticket to a death game called Sword Art Online.

Then I realized the first thing she said.. A little heavy for a Dual-Weapon.. I never used a dual weapon other than this, but my previous talwar was heavier than this. And I was the fastest Beta Tester with that weapon.

"What do you mean.. A little heavy?" I said out of curiosity.

"Well.. Its definitely heavier than my weapon." She said as she threw the twin scythe back at me, which I caught. She's joking right? A katana is supposed to be used with two hands, how in the hell is THAT lighter than a dual-type? "Yeah, my «Wind Slayer» is a lightweight katana, that's why I can do this."

I didn't understand what she meant, but I was definitely freaked out when she pulled at the katana's guard with her index finger and the said weapon launched out of its sheath. Once it stopped at the highest point, it fell to the ground with a vertical spin.

THIS is the part where it freaked me out! Whatever she was about to do, if she made a slight mistake.. Oh boy, dying because of your own weapon is definitely NOT on top of my '50 Ways to Die' list. But then, she surprised me yet again by grabbing the handle of the katana with less to no effort. And it was in upright position when she caught it.

"Do you even know the risk when you pulled that trick?" I asked, still shocked.

"There no risk actually. Its a special monster dropped weapon, it won't do any harm if I'm not the one swinging it around." She said, twirling the weapon on her hand a few times before doing the same thing again, but this time the sword smoothly slide into its sheath. "Oh.. I never got your name."

Of course you haven't, why's that?.. Hmm.. Something about a tree and some strands of my hair maybe?

"K- ... Amano.." I simply said. Hiding the fact that I almost blurted out my real name instead of my In-Game Name.

"I'm Nina, nice to meet you Amano." She said offering her hand. I was hesitant for a second, but then shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too.." I said. Then I noticed one other thing. "Are you.. Alone? I mean.. Not in a party?" Not that I'm asking her to party up with me, but hey, female players are rare. And even rarer to see one on a field and not in a party.

"No.. I've been in a party twice, both of them ended up getting in the way of my attack pattern instead of backing me up." Somehow I understand what she meant, despite my experience in party play, which is zero. "Speak to yourself, you're going solo and I can see your not doing a very good job."

"I ran out of potions." I blurted out immediately, she doesn't need to know that I got ganged up by 3 orcs with only one bottle of potion.

"Suure, you ran out of potions." My god, this woman makes me look like an idiot!

"Say, do you want to go to the labyrinth tomorrow?" She suddenly said.

"Sorry, 25's not my lucky number."

"I meant the 28th floor, I heard that the front-liner found the Boss Room earlier today, the 28th floor should be available tomorrow." Well that's a shocker, a non-front-liner who have more info than me.

"You sure? I mean.. Uhm.. I don't know.. Its kinda dangerous." I said to her.

"What's your level right now?"

"28." I said, half proud of myself.

"33." She chimed. Aand there goes the last of my dignity.

I sighed, there's no way I can talk myself out of this. A window suddenly appeared in front of me.

«NINA wants to form a party with you. Do you accept?»

I thought about it for a while.. But then I shrugged it off and tapped «YES». Having someone along should be a nice change of pace.

"Come on, let's go back to the town before more of those orcs show up." She said as she walked away.

"I second that." I said as I followed her.

Maybe.. Just maybe.. Making new friends isn't so bad after all.


	2. 3 on 1? Bring it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

I'm starting to regret forming a party with her.. And we're not even in the labyrinth yet.

I slid my finger down the virtual window in front of me, scrolling down my Items inside my Inventory. Potion, Potion, Potion, Potion, Potion, Potion, Heal Crystal, Potion, Potion, Teleport Crystal, Potion, Potion, aaaanddd... Potion.

I sighed and tapped my Equipment Slot. I had wasted almost every single COL I had to buy myself a new set of armor and some... No... A LOT of potions.

The monsters in the labyrinth are usually stronger. Way stronger than the ones on the field of the same floor. And in the 28th floor, the field monsters are around level 34 to 35. Hello me, a level 28 Ex-Solo Player.

I closed the menu window in front of me and groaned. My armor appearance didn't change much, still the same red shirt. But now there's this stiff collar, a quite heavy iron plating, replacing my previous leather one. Plus an iron shoulder pad on my left shoulder.

I feel like I'm signing up for an execution in that labyrinth, even though I have someone whose 5 levels ahead of me. But still...

I hit the back of my head to the wall behind me. "That girl's gonna be the death of me..."

"You're early, Amano-kun." I lazily looked to the left and almost caught a mini-heart attack. I didn't expect her to be standing this close next to me.

"Nina... Don't do that, Please..." I slowly said. Really, I'm not a fan of being surprised like that.. Last time someone threw me a surprise birthday party, I ended up throwing a vase at Kaito... Square in the face...

As if responding to my reaction, she seems to be holding in a light laugh.

"I tend to be violent in response to something like that okay. What's so funny about that?" I said in slight annoyance.

"Oh nothing, you just remind me of a close friend, that's all." Whoever's the unlucky male out there considered to be this girl's 'Close Friend', I give you my sincerest condolence... I really do...

I pushed myself away from the wall I was leaning on and stretched my waist lightly. "You ready?" She nodded.

"Right, let's not go too deep in the labyrinth for today."

"Why? Are you scared." She said. Oh hell no don't start this again!

"If this is the type of game where you respawn after death, then no, I'm not scared. But Death in this game means real death and I'm not throwing away my life for a reckless decision." I said. "I have to go back... To the real world."

There's still a bunch of stuff to do back in the real world. I'm not gonna die in this cursed world. There's something I still have to do before I die...

"I kinda understand what you mean. Besides..." She then stands in front of me and smiled. "With your level right now, I don't think you can go that deep anyway~" and then she happily skipped away.

'... Yep... She's gonna be the death of me.' I silently thought as I followed lazily behind her.

Sword Art Online: The Blood Reaper  
Chapter 2  
3 on 1? Bring It!

"Nina-chaan~" I cringed as I heard THAT and 3 male players running towards Nina. This scene... Was somehow familiar.

**

"Shirogane-samaaa~"

"Back off you clowns!" I shouted as I planted my foot on one of Elea's fanboy's chest.

"We're in a damn meeting over here! Get a life! All of you!" I shouted one last time before I slammed the door to the Art Room shut.

**

I saw the 3 guys around Nina, asking her to join their party, ex-party members maybe?

But... The way these guys are doing it... And her reaction...

"Exactly, the same as her..." I groaned. Nina spat the exact image of Elea in this position. Might as well spice things up a little bit.

I didn't manage to say one of the 40 sentence I had planned, she suddenly grabbed the side of my shirt and pulled me to her side.

"Sorry guys, I'm in a party with him right now." The 3 males suddenly looked at me with spiteful eyes. Not very intimidating guys, I've seen more scarier looks on a dog.

"But his armor looks old, and he doesn't even have a weapon."

"Yeah Nina-chan, why would you party up with a weakling like him."

I wouldn't comment on the lack of weapon, I hid my twin scythe inside my inventory. But 'weakling'? That's a low blow.

"You guys would just be a burden in her party anyway. Now run along and go level yourselves up." I said as I scratched the back of my head.

"Eeh? What's that?" One of the guy said.

"Amano-kun here's right though, he did a better job than any of you three." Nailed it!

"But- but.. Nina-chan! There's 3 of us and one of him, we can do a better job fighting alongside you!"

"I can do better than 3 of you combined." I lazily said... Wait.. WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAID?

All 3 males put on their angry faces and one spat out. "You talk real big! But can you back it up?!"

I can't really say no at this point... Well, guess we'll have to go with this.

"Try me." I said as I tapped the «Invite to Duel» Option. "3 against 1. I'll take all 3 of you on at the same time!"

Without any hesitation, they accepted my challenge as the timer showed 60, counting down to 0.

A trade window from Nina suddenly appeared in front of me, the «Iron Longsword» was on Nina's side of the trade. I was confused at first, but then I realized it.

I don't have a weapon other than my Twin Scythe, the weapon I'm trying to hide.

I tapped «Accept» and the weapon materialized in front of me. I smirked, this longsword have around the same length and weight as my previous curved blade. Initiating the same combo should work with this.

I lifted the sword and looked at Nina who was behind me. "Thanks Nina. Just watch in the sideline, I'll get this done real quick."

"I can't stop you even if I wanted to, huh?"

"Less than a day and you already knew me too well." I said with a smirk, the timer showed 10... 9... 8

Crowd of people started gathering around us as the 3 enemies in front of me took out their weapon. A dagger, a short sword with shield, and an axe.

7... 6... 5

I swiftly drew my weapon, the blade gleaming from the light of the city lamp. I held the sword on my right hand, and the sword sheath on my left.  
4... 3... 2... 1

START!

All 3 of them immediately charged at me with their weapons glowing, indicating the use of a Sword Skill.

I dodged the dagger-user's attack by side stepping to the left. I looked up and saw an axe above my head. I swung my sword at the hand holding the axe. The blade cleanly phased through the owner's hand, separating it from his arm.

I spun around and kicked the axe-user square in the chest, knocking him away as his HP bar turns yellow, eliminating him from the duel.

Still in my post-kicking position, I swung the Iron Longsword at the dagger-user. A direct hit. His HP bar turns yellow and was eliminated from the duel as well

Leaving me with the last one, the one with the sword and shield, who hasn't even attempted a strike on me ever since the duel started.

"Backing out of the fight? I won't hit you if you're not gonna fight back." I said and used the sheath of my sword to point at the other 2. "They barely held out for 5 second against me. Are you gonna try your luck?"

I could hear the crowd around me whispering, and some of them gasped. Well, its not everyday you could see a 3-on-1 Duel.. Especially when the Solo Fighter is winning.

"B-back out?! Hell no!" He said. A good fighting spirit I should say, but still, I could see his body trembling.

"Alright then." I said as I closed my eyes. I kicked the ground and dashed towards the sword-user. The panic in his eyes were clearly shown, he lifted his sword and tried to strike me.

Unconsciously, being too used to using a dual weapon, I used the sword sheath on my left hand to hit his right wrist, causing him to let go of his sword. In his knockback moment, I used the sword on my right hand to strike his shield, creating a vulnerable moment in his defense.

I took a step to the left and let the momentum of my body into my sword, grinding it against the ground and ripped the sword-user's flesh through his armor. He was knocked back as a result of my brutal attack, his HP Bar turned yellow, indicating my victory in the duel as the «Winner Announcement» window appeared above the four of us.

I let out a heavy sigh as I sheathed my weapon. I turned back to see the 3 of them struggling to get up, still suffering the fatigue effect from their loss of the duel as the crowd around us went away one by one.

"Now.. What was that about me being a weakling?" I said to the 3 of them. They all cringed and left in a fast pace. I sighed. "Newbies."

"That was awesome Amano-kun!" I turned to the source of the voice, who happened to be Nina. "Using the sheath as a defensive weapon never really occurred to me before."

"Uhm.. I guess it's because I've been using a Dual-Weapon for the last 5 months." I said unsure of myself, causing her to hold another light laugh.

"Anyway, are you still in good shape? Cause we still have a labyrinth to raid." She said. She's kidding right? Those 3 newbies aren't even on the same level as the orcs I fought yesterday.

"I'm feeling better than ever." I said as I sent the Iron Longsword into my inventory. "Let's go." I said as we both walked away from the post-duel site.

Chapter 2 End


	3. Achieving the Impossible

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

I jumped out of the way as a giant hand that resembled a tree trunk struck the ground where I was standing a second ago.

I spun the scythe on my right hand by its chain. Once it was fast enough, I threw it and activated a Sword Skill I just learned, «Shackle». It did the meaning of its name, the chain that connects the scythe in mid air and the scythe on my hand extended and wrapped itself around the giant's hand. Once the binding was completed, I pulled on the chain and the scythe on my hand.

"Now! Nina!" I shouted as the wind blew past me, her speed creating a light burst of wind. Even with my high «Scan» Skill, I could only see a blur of light green struck through the giant monster's arm. I cried out as I pulled the chain harder, ripping off the giant hand from its body.

The «Angry Ent», a level 37 monster of the 28th floor labyrinth. It has the form of a giant, old, dead tree. More specifically, a giant tree trunk with arms and legs, without leaves on top of its head. And about the size, let's say I'm as tall as its forehand. Large indeed, yet just a normal monster with 50% of its HP Bar remaining. Not to mention the lack of right arm.

Nina who had landed behind the Ent, spun her body and slashed the back of the giant tree with her glowing green katana. Her single swipe, as if dividing the wind itself, struck the monster across its back with a very deep cut, causing a light shockwave to rumble from the main point of the attack, hence the Sword Skill's name, «Divider».

Not giving the Angry Ent a room to recover, I used its left hand as a platform to jump at its face and initiated an aerial version of the «Mantis Dance». Instead of using the chains to cut off the target's air supply as the last attack, the aerial version used a backflip kick as a final attack, resulting in the giant ent to fell on its back.

Before the ent even touched the ground. Nina, who was inside the ent's falling range, used another «Divider» on the ent. This time, did what's its name actually means, dividing the ent's upper body and its lower body completely. The large monster shattered into many pieces of polygons, the remaining pieces giving Nina, who was standing in the middle of it, a somehow angelic aura.

WHOA WHOA WHOA! Hold that thought! Bad thought! Bad thought!

"Nice tactic there Amano-kun." She said as she walked towards me. I smiled lightly.

"I could say the same to you Nina." I said as I high-fived her.

Sword Art Online: The Blood Reaper  
Chapter 3  
Achieving the Impossible

I whistled lightly as I observed the «Battle Result» window in front of me.

«Level UP! 38 - 39»

It has been a whole two weeks ever since I won the 3-on-1 Duel. In all those 14 days, me and Nina had went into the 28th floor labyrinth, killing more monsters than the previous day on each day. Yeah, I know, 11 levels in 14 days... What kind of sick game is this?! Oh wait, its SAO.

Ironically, this is considered 'fast-leveling' since the majority of SAO players tend to take on a monster 5-10 levels lower than their own, resulting in low exp gain. Us, on the other hand, spent 14 days grinding on a higher leveled monsters. Like I said before, I just leveled up to Level 39, while Nina had leveled to 41 a few monsters ago.

It was 12th April 2023, and the damn front-liner still can't find the boss room of this labyrinth! I sighed and took out a bottle of potion from my inventory.

I drank the whole content and watched as my HP Bar slowly regenerate.

"Amano-kun..." I looked to the left and saw Nina walking next to me. I responded with an audible grunt. "Have you ever thought about taking on a Floor Boss?"

And as I heard that, I stopped in my track. "Sometimes... But then I can't even keep my HP Bar full fighting a normal monster, let alone a Boss Monster." If this was a normal game, I would have charged into the boss room every time, but then, death is real in this game, so I gotta stay in the safe zone. "Why'd you ask anyway? I mean, why now?"

I saw her point her finger at the direction in front of me, I followed it and... Lo and behold, the gate to the Boss Room of the 28th Floor, the Hell-themed decoration on the door is quite catchy I should say.

Then I processed Nina's previous question and my current position... She can't be serious...

"Do you really think we can take it on?" I said, again, unsure of myself.

"If things got nasty, then we can use this to get out." She said, showing me her Teleport Crystal. "You do have one, right."

"I'm well prepared, thank you for asking." I said, taking out my own Teleport Crystal.

We both had used Potions after our last battle, and the Boss should be around level 37 - 42, so I guess there's no harm in trying to take it on... We have an escape plan anyway.

We both stopped in front of the door. We both stored our escape method into our inventory and took out our weapon. Her Wind Slayer on her right hand, and my Twin Tooth both on my left, as I was about to use my right to open this damn heavy door.

We nodded at each other and pushed the door open.

Darkness. Pitch-black darkness, that's all we needed to describe the Boss Room. The torches on the wall suddenly lit up with small flames, it barely even gave us a clear view of the room. But I can assume this room is different than the outside, even the theme itself.

The 28th Floor Labyrinth have this, dead forest theme, while the boss room... An underground dungeon of an old castle? Seriously? This is 2023 man!

Still, an empty room, with no sign of the boss. I had my weapon ready on both hand, in case of any surprise attack.

"Well... This is disappointing." Nina said. She sheathed her weapon and turned around. "Let's go back."

As soon as she said that, I heard a booming sound from behind me, she had also stopped in her track.

The door to the room had suddenly closed by itself.

'Damn! I know something was suspicious in this room!' I thought as I frantically looked around, even in the poor light, my high leveled «Scan» Skill allowed me to spot a possible threat.

Nothing! I can barely see the presence of the boss! But still... Even if you have a high «Hiding» Skill, you can't hide the sound you made. I heard an unnatural creaking sound behind me. I looked back and saw Nina a few feet away from me, her hand steady on her sheathed Katana.

At first, I though Nina had just stepped on something, but then, sound breaks invisibility. The letter «Nightmare Satyr» suddenly appeared right next to her, along with a red cursor above it.

"NINA! LOOK OUT!" A large scythe suddenly phased out of the darkness right above Nina's head. She didn't have chance to even look up as I rushed in and grabbed her by the waist. Instinctively I kicked the ground and dived out of the way as the giant scythe struck the ground where Nina was standing a second ago.

We both fell on our sides, I looked at the scythe again. It was lifted as if someone or something was holding it. A second later, a large humanoid figure walked out of the darkness. The name «Nightmare Satyr» and 4 Bars of HP was present above its head. It looked like a giant werewolf with dark purple fur and a deformed human face. It has 2 spiral horn each above its eye.

The monster have a slender body figure, a leg that resembles the hind-leg of a four-legged beast, and a pair of lightly muscled arms with small hands. Its right hand holding a black great-scythe with wooden pole.

Its eyes glowed red and it let out an ear-piercing shriek. No, not a roar, not a scream, but a goddamn shriek!

I stood up and took out my twin scythe. "Nina. Get your crystal ready." I said to her. "Get out of this place, I'll catch up later."

"There's no way I'm leaving you with that thing!" She screamed out much to my dismay. The large satyr in front of me readied its scythe took a standby position as its scythe started glowing in a ghastly purple color.

My eyes widen when the satyr kicked the ground and dashed at me at an unbelievable speed. With that momentum, I foresaw a high-damaged one-hit attack. I positioned both of my scythe in front of me in a defensive stance. Suddenly I felt a hand pushing my back and a thin Katana lined up in front of my scythe.

I didn't manage to react as the heavy impact from the attack hit both me and Nina. It was a LOT heavier than I had thought, we both went flying back a few feet.

I struggled to push myself back up, the HP bar on the top left of my vision went down by 20%. "N-Nina... The crystal..." I managed to say, once she's out of the room, I could use the «Shackle» Sword Skill to buy me an extra time to use my own crystal.

"Its... Not here!" She said. "The Crystal's gone!" I turned to look at her, she was frantically scrolling up and down her inventory. My heart skipped a beat as I looked into my own inventory...

The Teleport Crystal's not there. But... How?

My worst possible assumption were unfortunately correct. I looked at the Nightmare Satyr, its left hand holding 2 crystals. As if insulting the both of us, it crushed the crystals in its hand before it shrieked again.

"Item Stealing Ability?!" Nina managed to say while I was frozen there like an idiot. Our only means of escape had been crushed right in front of our eyes. There are only 2 ways of escape now.

Victory... Or Death.

I gritted my teeth and gripped my weapons tightly. I slowly stood up as the Satyr pulled back its scythe, the blade gleaming with purple light. I took a single step forward as the familiar red light of the Sword Skill decorated the blade of my scythes.

"Amano-kun, what are you-" Ignoring whatever she was about to say, I dashed forward, leaving traces of red light from my scythes.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" My right scythe clashed against the Satyr's giant scythe. Causing both to bounce back, I took this chance and slashed its stomach with my left scythe..

Contact! Rage consumed me as I continued my flurry of hits at the large Satyr, after another 8 hit, I did a dual outward slash, a lethal mistake.

The large scythe raked my chest, throwing me up in the air as the red data particles floated around me. I painfully looked at the Satyr, its left hand emitting black static electricity.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I scream as pitch black lightning surged through my body. Magic does exist in SAO, in a form of crystals. But sometimes, bosses can also use magic-based attack. But when they do, it hurts like hell, and not to mention the outrageous damage!

I fell to the ground, my whole body felt numb from the attack. The HP bar on the top left of my vision dropped from 80% to 45%. I weakly looked at the Satyr, I smirked a little bit, the Mantis Dance did a pretty good job depleting its HP, but still 3 and a half bars left.

"Stop it..." I heard a female voice, "Its my fault that we got into this. Hate me all you want. But please... Just... Stop."

I struggled and finally got on one knee, the binding that kept my hair in a ponytail had snapped from the lightning attack, my silver hair now fell to its true length, probably a bit longer than Nina's as it ends on my middle back. I turned my head to look at her.

"Are you saying that... We should just sit here and accept «Death»?" I said. I could hear her whimper and tears started trickling down her face.

"No." I growled. I saw her slowly lift her head up. "I'd rather die bathed in blood for being myself, than dying after I cast away all hope!"

"But... As long as I still breathe..." I said as I took my weapon.

"There's no way... There's no way I'm letting my friends die!"

-Nina's POV-

Its useless. We're trapped inside a Boss Room without a teleport crystal. But why... Why does he still fight? There's no exit other than «Death»! So why?!

"There's no way... There's no way I'm letting my friends die!"

My eyes widen as a single drop of tear trickle down my face. The look on his eyes... Its not Rage... Its...

Determination.

He stood up and faced the satyr in front of him, the black electricity finally leaving his body. He swiftly took out a Heal Crystal and activated it, returning his HP bar to 80%.

He rushed at the Nightmare Satyr, unleashing his signature «Mantis Dance». There was nothing I could do. I could only watch as he launched his combo attack, and then thrown back, he rushed in again only to get thrown back again.

'Why? Why does he keep trying to do the impossible?' That thought came in repeatedly in my head. And then I saw it, the Satyr's HP bar was going down in a quick pace.. In exchange for its speed and power.. It has a very low defense status. After what it seems like the 13th rush, the Satyr's HP bar had gone down to the last one.

Then I saw his own HP.. Its on the yellow zone and was about to hit red. With the rate both of them are taking damage..

Amano-kun would lose his HP before the boss.

I swallowed me fear and gripped the sword on my back. The only thought that crossed my mind that time was to rush in and help him, but then I saw something unusual in Amano-kun's weapon.

His twin scythe started gleaming with crimson light. This wasn't the «Mantis Dance», the light was much more thicker.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He let out a scream. No, more like a battle cry. The satyr's eyes glowed red as it pulled back its scythe, unfazed by the cry. I shielded myself with my arms as Amano-kun dashed forward, leaving a violent burst of wind.

The sound of metal clashing against metal can be heard, followed by a light shockwave after each sound. Even when they clashed their blades once in a while, its quite noticeable that for each hit the Nightmare Satyr did, Amano-kun did 5 hits.

The blood red light of the Sword Skill decorated his outline as he launched countless hits at the Satyr. A Skill that also boosts the Strength and Speed Status of the user for the short duration of it as it launched a furious 35 hits at the target.. Amano-kun once told me about this kind of skill.. The Twin-Scythe's double edged most powerful Skill.

«Demon's Dance».

I could do nothing as I watched in awe, red particles flying away from the Satyr's body as each attack made contact.

Amano-kun did an outward dual slash that made the Satyr staggered back a few steps. An opening! He lifted both of his glowing scythe above his head, and with a loud cry, came a dual heavy downward slash as the red glow finally left his body.

The Nightmare Satyr's HP bar, now finally rid of the red content inside, disappeared into tiny pieces as the said Boss Monster took another step back. 2 red gashes on its chest started flashing with blinding light for a moment before its whole existence shattered into many pieces of polygon. A large «CONGRATULATION» appeared in its place.

It took a while for me to process the whole event... But then it hit me.

He... He won. Amano-kun just Solo'ed a boss monster... And won.

-Amano's POV-

I stood there with both of my arms hung lazily by my sides. I only saw the color red around me... Either its my eyes, or because of the «Low HP» Status.

A window suddenly appeared on top of my «Battle Result» window.

«Congratulation! You got the Last Attacking Bonus!» Was written on top of it. An item with an axe icon appeared under it.

«Nightmare Scythe»

I noticed the HP bar on the upper left of my vision... The one with NINA next to it still have 65%. While the one with AMANO next to it only have a little bit of red left. The number 52/5360 written under the HP Bar... Its also quite noticeable that the said HP bar have a red glow once every 2 seconds.

I could hear the sound of 2 metal object touched the ground and the weight of the twin scythe left my hand. The next thing I remembered was falling to the ground and everything went black.

*****

My eyes darted cautiously for any possible threat as I took a sip of my drink.

"Amatsu, what are you doing?" I stopped looking around and looked back at the person across the table, that person was none other than Elea.

"Can't help it. I don't want any false rumor going on at school." I said to her as I took another sip of my drink.

"Amatsu... We're not even dating."

"Exactly my point." I said to her. Well what do you expect? You're having lunch in a restaurant inside a shopping center with your classmate who happens to be female. And to make it worse, the said female have a very possessive fan-club. "Our schoolmates tend to jump into conclusion when they see an unusual event. I don't need any scandalous rumor between us going around, and not to mention your so-called fan-club."

"Oh... Right. I almost forgot about that." She said with a light laugh. She took a bite from her food before she said that one, little, painful sentence. "Say... Yesterday in art class... Didn't the teacher told us to draw a silhouette of a tree?"

"Yes. You we're there, sitting next to me." I said, a little irritated cause I know where this is going.

"Why didn't you draw a tree?"

"Its a tree dammit!"

"... I'm pretty sure I saw a broccoli there instead of a tree." At that, I laid my head on the table.

"Fine, I can't draw a tree! There I said it! Are you happy now?!" I mumbled with my face still on the table. Then I heard her laugh.

"I didn't mean it that way Amatsu. But... It does look like a broccoli." I groaned, I lifted my head a bit and hit it on the table again.

****

'What happened...' That sentence echoed in my head. I let out a heavy groan as I tried opening my eyes slowly.

The brightness of the area blinded me for a few second, forcing me to close my eyes again. I opened my eyes again and everything looked clearer.

The first thing I checked was the top left of my vision. My HP bar at 100%.

I remembered now... I passed out after that rough battle against a Floor Boss. I didn't remember the details but one thing I'm pretty sure about, was that the Boss area looked nothing like a grassland with a bright blue sky above.

I was sitting on the ground leaning back on a tree trunk, the leaves of the tree gave just the comfortable amounts of shades I need. It took a while for me to process the situation I was in, but then I realized something was missing.

On the top left of my vision, there was only my own HP bar. I'm not in a party anymore...

Many questions rang inside my head, I checked my inventory and my Twin Tooth's still there. Good, I'm not robbed. But then there was one weapon I'm pretty sure I didn't have before, the «Nightmare Scythe».

'It was not a dream... I did kill that boss... But, where's Nina?'

As I thought that, a notification appeared in front of me.

«Gift from: NINA»

Without hesitation, I opened it and a message took its place.

«I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I have some important things to do, and its better that I don't drag you into it.

I can't thank you enough for what you did at the 28th Floor Labyrinth's Boss Room, if it weren't for you, I would probably be dead by now.

Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry for leaving you behind.

-NINA»

It wasn't my intention to party up, or even make friends with anyone in this death game. I was afraid that... I'd lose them...

I sighed. I guess, Nina was no different than anyone else out there. She'd probably think of me as a monster or something... I mean, who the hell solo a floor boss and won?

I opened the gift attachment that came with Nina's message, the item immediately went to my inventory. The «Coat of Execution», a Boss-drop rarity equipment. A drop from the «Nightmare Satyr» to be exact.

Why would she give away her boss drop item to me? I probably don't want to know the answer to that question.

I stood up and opened my menu again, I equipped my newly acquired «Nightmare Scythe» along with the «Coat of Execution». The scythe was a mini-version of the satyr's own scythe, but with a black steel pole and the blade have a red-purple color instead of pure black.

The coat took the appearance of a long-sleeve trench coat that ended around my knee, it has a black-purple color scheme with a single loose chain connecting the upper part, and a thin metal shoulder pad on both shoulder. Sadly it doesn't have high collar like I hoped, but this is okay.

I rested the great-scythe on my shoulder as I turned around to look at the tree behind me.

"Someday Nina... Someday, we'll meet again." I muttered before I turned around and walked away. The wind blew past me, the lower part of my coat waved with the wind along with my long silver hair. Yes, I didn't bother tying it up again, maybe later.

As the wind blew, I turned my head a bit and took a peek at the tree again. A long haired shadowy figure stood behind the tree, with a katana strapped on the figure's back.

I didn't show it on my face, but I smiled inwardly as I realized who the figure was. I sighed in relieve as I continued walking away from the said area.

As I walk away, only a single thought rang inside my head.

'Someday... We'll meet again...'

-Chapter 3 End-


End file.
